Eutelsat has announced that is has signed a long-term multiple launch services agreement with Arianespace covering up to four launches in the 2016 and 2017 timeframe.
The new contract is in addition to the contract signed between the pair in July 2012…
Eutelsat has announced that is has signed a long-term multiple launch services agreement with Arianespace covering up to four launches in the 2016 and 2017 timeframe.
The new contract is in addition to the contract signed between the pair in July 2012 for the 2014 and 2015 timeframe, covering one launch and an option for a further launch.
Commenting on the agreement, Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat CEO, said: “This latest contract seals a 30-year relationship between Eutelsat and Arianespace during which over 60% of our satellites have been launched by an Ariane rocket. It paves the road for the future by giving us flexibility and schedule assurance to secure our deployment plan for the five years to come. We are delighted to pursue our longstanding collaboration and are confident that we can count on Arianespace’s total commitment to performance and precision.”
The reference to launch ‘schedule assurance’ is particularly pertinent given that both Sea Launch and International Launch Services have suffered recent launch failures and with their respective return to flights yet to be determined, the number of launch options for satellite operators is currently reduced.
The emergence of SpaceX as a viable commercial choice has eased this potential bottleneck but a Eutelsat spokeswoman said that while the operator would certainly consider it, they would like to see SpaceX develop a track record of commercial success for its heavy lift vehicle first.
Eutelsat’s next satellite due to be launched is Eutelsat-7B, which is expected to be lofted by International Launch Services in Q2 2013. The company will then see Es’Hail-1/Eutelsat-25B, the spacecraft jointly owned with ictQatar, launched by Arianespace in mid-2013.
Demand for video in Middle East drives revenue growth
Meanwhile, Eutelsat announced its first half 2012-2013 results, reporting a 5.2% rise in revenue growth to €633.6m and EBITDA up 4.9% year-on-year to €501.9m, giving the company a margin of 79.2%.
This growth was predominantly driven by a 6.8% rise in its core video applications business, with the company’s 7/8W video neighbourhood serving the Middle East and North Africa seeing strong demand. In addition, Eutelsat’s value-added services operations reported a 37.6% increase to €31.2m on the back of a rise in uptake for the company’s Tooway consumer broadband services on KA-SAT.
Overall Eutelsat has a backlog of €5.4bn and a leverage ratio of 2.66 times new debt/EBITDA.
The company stated that its results were in line with targets and that it was on track to both its year and mid-term targets of top-line growth of 5 – 6% for the current fiscal year and a CAGR of 6 – 7% for the three years to June 2015.
Chief financial officer to leave
Catherine Guillouard, Eutelsat’s chief financial officer for more than five years is to leave the company.
In a statement Eutelsat said that Guillouard has ‘decided to move on to take up a new challenge outside the Group’. Her destination and departure date have not been disclosed.
A search is now underway to find a replacement.
